Advanced Medical Support Assistant (Ambulatory Care)

The incumbent serves as a member of the Durham VA Health Care System, operating in a Direct Care (Ambulatory Care) area at duty stations throughout the Health Care System. The incumbent is an essential member of the Veterans health care team and communicates effectively with clinicians, nurses, and other health professionals in support of Veteran's access to medical care.

The incumbent independently executes a range of duties essential to the delivery of healthcare services in both inpatient and outpatient settings.Major duties include but are not limited to:

• The coordination and scheduling of Veteran medical appointments, greeting patients, and managing phone and mail communications.
• Collaborates closely with a multidisciplinary team to coordinate the Veterans' access to their health care services.
• Serve on more than one Primary Care PACT team or in more than one specialty serviceline, or rotate into any scheduling area as needed.
• Active participation in team huddles, staff meetings, and daily communication efforts to address the care needs of each Veteran.
• Scheduling activities must comply with established national, VISN, and local guidance, particularly VHA Directive 1230 (Outpatient Scheduling Management), and VHA Directive 1232 (Consult Management), and must stay current with any updates or changes to VHA scheduling policies and procures.
• Must have a thorough understanding of clinic processes and available medical services throughout the Health Care System to effectively interact with the Veteran and coordinate needs with other medical services to effectively interact with Veterans and coordinate with other medical services throughout the health care system.
• Communicate with non-VA medical facilities to ensure effective coordination of care, including during transitions from inpatient discharge to outpatient services and in obtaining necessary medical documentation from Community providers.
• Must be proficient in pulling reports from electronic health records and scheduling software systems to manage encounters, return to clinic orders, recall reminders, open slot management tools, and consults requiring initial or follow up scheduling actions.
• Support clinic access contingency plans by adjusting appointment times, locations, or dates as needed as well as shift appointments to other providers during staffing or coverage needs.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday- Friday (Tour of duty can vary between (7:00- 5:30 pm), final schedule will be determined upon selection).
Location: Two vacancies at the Durham VAMC and one vacancy at the Hillandale 1 Clinic.
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 0000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Experience and Education: No education requirement above high school (or equivalent), and no experience requirement.
• English Language Proficiency: MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j.
• Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. Assignments at this level include, but are not limited
  • Performs a full range of duties [related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting.
  • Advises clinical staff on current administrative processes.
  • Responsible for answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit, scheduling appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines.
  • Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults; entering no-show information; monitoring 7 appointment requests from multiple electronic sources; participating in huddles with other MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine the daily needs of the clinic, monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility; verifying and updating demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments.
  • Coordinates administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment type based on the patient's eligibility status (i.e., TRICARE, sharing agreements, collaterals, research patient, VA employee etc.).

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations:

GS-06

In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements outlined above, candidates must possess the required specialized experience and be able to demonstrate all Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) as summarized below.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs of GS-06 below:

• Ability to collaborate and communicate with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines (e.g. medical doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, clinical pharmacists, and nursing staff) to accomplish team goal setting to ensure medical care to patients is met.
• Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
• Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively, electronically, by phone, in person, and in writing, with internal and external customers. This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels, as well as resolving patient concerns.
• Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process including, but not limited to, scheduling across interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community models and patient health care portals as it relates to access to care.
• Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community operational activities that affect patient flow, and patient support care administrative functions to include, but not limited to appointment cycles, outside patient referrals, follow-up care, overbooking, provider availability, etc.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-06.

Physical Requirements: See VA Handbook 5005/117 Part II Appendix G45.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.